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When films that take place during a specific period of time aren't released theatrically during that same specific period of time, it's usually a bad sign. You know, like a movie about Mardi Gras coming out in September. Or a film about a dysfunctional family's Thanksgiving dinner that bows in May. Or Reindeer Games. The usual scenario is that the finished film sucks, so release plans are scrapped, expectations are lowered and fingers are crossed that nobody will notice anything is afoul.
Even though Disney's new animated film, Recess: School's Out, is set during summer vacation (and being released in February), there still seemed to be some potential for quality. The film is based on a (supposedly) popular Saturday morning cartoon, and its crew reads like a who's who of smart animated comedies (director Chuck Sheetz has worked on The Simpsons and King of the Hill, while writers Joe Ansolabehere, Jonathan Greenberg and Paul Germain have served time on shows like Daria, Rugrats and Duckman). And there's a slew of interesting voice talent on board as well. In theory, Recess looked promising.
In practice, it's a whole different story. Recess is as weak as an asthmatic second-grader with glasses, a cowlick and a retainer, and it packs the comedic punch of a devastating Third World earthquake. The film opens on the last day of classes at the 3rd Street School, where children and teachers alike are celebrating their impending freedom. We're introduced to the school's principal, Vance Prickly (Dabney Coleman); a mean, old teacher with sharp, kid-eating teeth (April Winchell); and, most importantly, Recess' six main characters, who make up the typical cross-section of Anytown, USA.
There's the fat kid (he's going to opera camp - Robert Goulet provides his singing voice), the black kid (he's headed for baseball camp), the nerdy kid (space camp) and the runty kid (military camp). And then there's the wrestling-camp-bound "other" kid (you know the one - can't tell if it's a boy or a girl, Asian or Latino, and it wears a hat like Dumb Donald on Fat Albert). T.J. (Andy Lawrence), Recess' cool kid, isn't going away to camp and, in his boredom, stumbles on a completely ludicrous adventure.
It seems that an evil former principal (James Woods), hell-bent on instituting a worldwide ban on summer vacation, has taken over the school and plans to knock the moon out of orbit with a giant laser beam. If that sentence made sense to you, perhaps your medication is wearing off. T.J., with the help of his hot older sister (Melissa Joan Hart), smuggles his friends from their various camps to do battle with the maniacal villain. Will they be able to save the day? I've got a feeling things will probably work out, and the madcap finale will somehow involve the unique talent of each of the six kids.
In what appears to be an attempt to keep bored parents interested, Recess is packed full of songs from the '60s (including Goulet's bizarre rendition of The Lemon Pipers' "Green Tambourine"), but, strangely enough, doesn't include the Alice Cooper standard that shares the same name as the film. The animation is shoddy, save the cool opening shot of the town that descends onto the 3rd Street School playground. Most of the celebrity guest voices are over before you know what hit you, which will likely cause a lot of head-scratching when the closing credits finally (and mercifully) begin to roll. I totally missed people like Diedrich Bader, Dan Castellaneta, Andrea Martin, Nick Turturro and about ten others. What's the point of getting (semi) famous talent to provide voices if nobody is going to notice?
Come to think of it, what's the point, period?
1:20 - G
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